Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Community Forum Today on Birth Control

Community Forum on Birth Control will be happening today at the K.L.E.O. Family Life Center at 5:30. I am so excited to be able to give back to the community the knowledge I have gained. Knowledge is nothing if you don't spread it.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Breastfeeding....why the hype?

So i finally stumbled across the infamous Time Magazine cover that displays a woman breastfeeding a child. Now I'm one of the biggest supporters of breastfeeding and I encourage all mothers to do so. However, not all individuals feel the same as I do. You hear folks say its disgusting, it spoils your child or that it's inappropriate. I for one don't see what the hype is all about. Its simply a mother feeding her child; its no different from adults eating a burger in public or a mother bottle feeding her child in public. But enough about how I personally feel about breastfeeding in the public. I want to get to the point of this posting which is the cover to Time Magazine.

In my opinion, this cover is completely inappropriate. People have been talking about the age of the child, but that's not my issue. My issue with this cover is the obvious detached bond that the woman has with the child. Breastfeeding is more than just feeding your child. Its also creating a bond with your child that only a mother has and can do. This cover does none of that. It actually, in my opinion, perpetuates the negative assumptions about breastfeeding...i don't know. Tell me what you think.


Thursday, May 10, 2012

Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health awareness month in America; but i wanted this post to focus on Mental Health awareness in the Black communities. There are several things that are taboo in our communities like sex and abortion, but mental illness is amongst the list as well. I think that it is very interesting that the things that affect are communities the most are the things that we don't discuss. We see people roaming the streets on a daily basis in our communities who are either talking to themselves, harming themselves or worse harming others. We automatically write them off as "crazy". These people aren't crazy! They have mental health issues and rather than seeking professional medical help, they self medicate.

Depression is one of the top mental health disorders that is seen within the Black community. Yet it is also most commonly overlooked. We need to bring more awareness to our communities about this issue. I understand that their are barriers like fear, embarrassment, lack of insurance, denial or access to mental health facilities; and while access is often a barrier that seems to be out of our control awareness and assistance is definitely something that we CAN control. Let's stop shaming and start educating ourselves and our communities about Mental Health Disorders in the Black community.


Friday, May 4, 2012

Why Must Black Women Be Hated On All The Time

So I was watching Sheri Shepherd's comment she made on her show about when she was younger and having had a lot of abortions and as I looked at the comments under the video I was disgusted. Not only that but that video lead me to all these videos that were very hateful and demeaning towards black women. Most of them were by black men and this was very disappointing. It saddens me that we are always at the forefront of scrutiny in the public eye. When will the madness stop, and people wonder why black girls and women have so many issues with their self and their body. I just hope that it gets better as my daughter gets older and I pray that she realizes that only she can define her self and not this messed up society.